Translation Comparisons

Ever since the confusion of tongues at Babel, translation has been a necessary part of communication. Truly understanding the writings of other peoples and cultures is difficult work, and scholars have spent millenia refining their skills. While in recent years, AI seems to making parts of this easier, we're not quite ready to trust it—especially for literature, considering the nuances required.

The Bible is certainly the most commonly translated book in the world, with dozens of English translations alone, but editions in most of the world's languages also. For a project of such immensity and importance, modern translations usually involve a panel of scholars and linguists. But it wasn't always that way. Although the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) was crafted by dozens of scholars in the 2nd & 3rd centuries, around 382 A.D., St. Jerome first reworked the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek into Latin, crafting the Vulgate, which was the standard translation of the Roman Catholic Church for a thousand years. Later, as churchmen desired to hear the word in their own tongues, men like John Wycliffe (England, 1382), Martin Luther (Germany, 1522-34 ), William Tyndale (England, 1525-35), and Miles Coverdale (also England, 1535) did the work to translate the Scriptures into the common tongues of their period. That work continues today and has resulted in many favorite versions over the years: the KJV, NASB, NKJV, ESV, NIV, RSV...just to name a few.

This probably seems like an unnecessary tangent in an introduction to literature comparisons, but there is a point. When studying English translations, scholars often use what is called an interlinear Bible, which intersperses lines of original language with lines of the language of which they are more accustomed. Going further, some people use a parallel Bible, which allows them to compare multiple versions of the same text side-by-side. These Classic Comparison pages are an attempt to offer you the same thing for passages of classic lit. Almost all of these pages have two parts: 1) the introduction, which will give some background on the book and summarize the major differences between editions, and 2) the parallel comparison page, which usually will offer 3-6 passages from all the translators we could feasibly add (we continue to update as we can). While that might be extreme thing to attempt for full novels, we think it's really helpful for getting the flavor of translations. 

Please let us know if you have questions, or would like to suggest other translations! 

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110 Items found Print
Active Filters: 7th grade (Ages 12-13)
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Illustrated Junior Library Series 4
by Jules Verne, translated by Anthony Bonner and illustrated by Stephen Armes
from Grosset & Dunlap
Science Fiction for 5th-10th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Sterling Classics
by Jules Verne, translated by Lewis Page Mercier and illustrated by Scott McKowen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 5th-10th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Books of Wonder
by Jules Verne, translated by Anthony Bonner and illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon
from HarperCollins
Science Fiction for 5th-10th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
by Jules Verne, Translated by Lewis Page Mercier, edited by Allen Grove
from Chartwell Books
for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Sterling Classics
by Jules Verne, translated by Lewis Page Mercier and illustrated by William O'Connor
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 5th-10th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
Adventures of Don Quixote de la Mancha
by Miguel De Cervantes, adapted by Leighton Barret and illustrated by Warren Chappell
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Illustrated Junior Library Series 3
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Illustrated Junior Library Series 1
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Illustrated Junior Library Series 4
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by ??
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures of Pinocchio
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Charles Folkard
from David McKay Company
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures of Pinocchio
by Carlo Collodi, illustrated by Robert Ingpen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Travel and Adventure Library for Young Folks
by Carlo Collodi, translated and adapted by Angelo Patri and illustrated by Mary Liddell
from Doubleday, Doran & Company Inc.
Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Aeneid for Boys and Girls
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
Roman Mythology for 5th-8th grade
$10.16
Aeneid for Boys and Girls
by Alfred J. Church
from Living Book Press
Roman Mythology for 5th-8th grade
$5.94
Aeneid for Boys and Girls
Macmillan Classics
by Alfred J. Church, illustrated by Eugene Karlin
1st Printing from Macmillan
Roman Mythology for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Beowulf
by Michael Morpurgo, illustrated by Michael Foreman
from Walker Books
for 3rd-8th grade
Beowulf
by Anonymous, translated by Douglas Wilson
from Canon Press
for 7th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$11.90 $6.40 (1 in stock)
Beowulf (retold)
by Rosemary Sutcliff
from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Beowulf (retold)
by Michael Morpurgo
from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-8th grade
$7.64 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Beowulf - A Graphic Novel Adaptation
by Gareth Hinds
from Candlewick Press
for 5th-9th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$14.44
Beowulf the Warrior
by Ian Serraillier
from Bethlehem Books
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.16 $5.60 (1 in stock)
Beowulf, Dragon Slayer
by Rosemary Sutcliff
from Penguin Putnam
for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Beowulf: A New Telling
by Robert Nye
from Laurel-Leaf Books
for 6th-10th grade
$5.09
Black Ships Before Troy
by Rosemary Sutcliff & Alan Lee
from Frances Lincoln
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$21.24
Black Ships Before Troy
by Rosemary Sutcliff
from Laurel-Leaf Books
Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
$7.64
Boys of Blur
by N. D. Wilson
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Boys of Blur
by N. D. Wilson
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.79
Boys' and Girls' Herodotus
by John S. White
from American Home-School Publishing
Ancient History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$23.99
Boys' and Girls' Herodotus
by John S. White
Facsimile Edition from Kessinger Publishing
Ancient History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Canterbury Tales (retold)
Puffin Classics
by Geoffrey Chaucer, retold by Geraldine McCaughrean
from Puffin Books
Epic Poetry for 7th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$5.94
Canterbury Tales (retold)
by A. Kent & Constance Hieatt, illustrated by Gustaf Tenggren
from Golden Press
for 5th-9th grade
Canterbury Tales (retold)
by Geoffrey Chaucer, retold by Geraldine McCaughrean and illustrated by Victor G. Ambrus
from Oxford University
Epic Poetry for 7th-9th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
Chaucer Story Book
by Geoffrey Chaucer, retpld by Eva March Tappan
Ill from CreateSpace
for 5th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.61
Chaucer's Stories Simply Told
by Mary Seymour, illustrated by E.M. Scannell
from Hillside Education
for 5th-8th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$12.71
Children's Homer
by Padraic Colum & Willy Pogany
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$9.34 $4.80 (3 in stock)
Don Quixote
by Miguel de Cervantes, illustrated by W. Heath Robinson
1962 printing from J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd.
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Don Quixote (retold)
by Miguel de Cervantes, adapted by Magda Bogin and illustrated by Manuel Boix
1st edition from Stewart, Tabori, & Chang
for 6th-10th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
Don Quixote (retold)
by Michael Harrison (reteller), illustrated by Victor G. Ambrus
from Oxford University
for 5th-8th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
Don Quixote for Young People
by James Baldwin (adapted from Miguel de Cervantes)
from American Book Co.
for 5th-7th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
Don Quixote of the Mancha (retold)
by Miguel de Cervantes, retold by Judge Parry and illustrated by Walter Crane
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
ECL: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Educator Classic Library #2
by Jules Verne, translated by Lewis Page Mercier and illustrated by Don Irwin
Complete and Unabridged Edition from Classic Press
in Educator Classic Library (Location: VIN-ECL)
ECL: Pinocchio
Educator Classic Library #3
by Carlo Collodi, translated by Joseph Walker and illustrated by William Dempster
Complete and Unabridged Edition from Classic Press
in Educator Classic Library (Location: VIN-ECL)
Exploits of Don Quixote
by Miguel Cervantes, retold by James Reeves and illustrated by Edward Ardizzone
from Blackie & Son LTD.
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Eyewitness Classics: Odyssey (adapted & annotated)
by Homer
1st edition from DK Children
for 3rd-8th grade
in Adapted or Abridged (Location: SER-ABR)
Gilgamesh
by Anonymous (translation by David Ferry)
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Ancient Poetic Epic for 7th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$13.60
Gilgamesh (retold)
by Bernarda Bryson
from CreateSpace
for 4th-8th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$26.87
Gilgamesh the Hero
by Geraldine McCaughrean
from Eerdmans
for 4th-8th grade
$17.00 $9.60 (1 in stock)
Heidi
Illustrated Junior Library Series 4
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Helen B. Dole and illustrated by William Sharp
from Grosset & Dunlap
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Heidi
A Golden Classic
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Helen Dole and illustrated by Judith Cheng
from Golden Books
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Heidi
Sterling Classics
by Johanna Spyri, illustrated by Scott McKowen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Heidi
by Johanna Spyri, illustrated by Frances Brundage
1930s? from Saalfield Publishing Co.
for 3rd-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Heidi
by Johanna Spyri, illustrated by Donna Pacinelli
from Unicorn Publishing House
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Heidi
by Johanna Spyri, translated by M. Rosenbaum and illustrated by June Goldsborough
from Golden Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Heidi
by Johanna Spyri, illustrated by Sergio Leone
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Heidi
Macmillan Classics
by Johanna Spyri, illustrated by Greta Elgaard
from Macmillan
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Heidi
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Louise Brooks and illustrated by Roberta MacDonald
from Junior Deluxe Editions
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Heidi
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Marian Edwardes and illustrated by Janet Good
from Longmeadow Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Heidi
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Helen Dole (no illustrator)
from Grosset & Dunlap
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Heidi
Illustrated Junior Library Series 3
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Helen B. Dole and illustrated by William Sharp
from Grosset & Dunlap
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-FIC)
Heidi
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Helen B. Dole and illustrated by William Sharp
from Grosset & Dunlap
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Heidi
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Shirley Watkins
from Macrae-Smith Company
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Heidi
Windermere Series 4
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Philip Schuyler Allen and illustrated by Maginel Wright Enright
1938 edition from Rand McNally
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Heidi
A Golden Classic
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Helen Dole
from Grosset & Dunlap
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Heidi
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Helen B. Dole and illustrated by William Sharp
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
$17.00
Heidi
Rainbow Classics
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Marian Edwards and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard
1st Printing from World Publishing Company
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Heidi
A Golden Classic
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Helen Dole, illustrated by Edna Cook Shoemaker & Pelagie Doane
from Grosset & Dunlap
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Heidi
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Marian Edwardes with uncredited illustrator
from J. G. Ferguson Publishing Co.
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Heidi
Windermere Readers #3
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Philip Schuyler Allen and illustrated by Maginel Wright Enright
1954 Edition from Rand McNally
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Heidi
Windermere Series 3
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Philip Schuyler Allen and illustrated by Maginel Wright Enright
1938 edition from Rand McNally
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Herodotus
Travel and Adventure Library for Young Folks
by Gordon King, editor, illustrated by Boris Artzybasheff
1930s edition from Doubleday, Doran & Company Inc.
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Iliad (retold)
by Homer & Barbara Leonie Picard
from Oxford University
for 4th-8th grade
Iliad (retold)
by Rosemary Sutcliff & Alan Lee
from Frances Lincoln
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
Iliad and the Odyssey (retold)
by Jane Werner Watson, illustrated by Alice & Martin Provensen
from Golden Books
for 5th-9th grade
Iliad for Boys and Girls
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
for 5th-8th grade
$10.16
Iliad for Boys and Girls
by Alfred J. Church
from Living Book Press
for 5th-8th grade
$6.79
Iliad for Boys and Girls
by Alfred J. Church
from Macmillan
for 5th-8th grade
In Search of a Homeland
by Penelope Lively & Ian Andrew
from Frances Lincoln
Picture Book/Mythology for 4th-8th grade
In Search of a Homeland
by Penelope Lively & Ian Andrew
from Delacorte Press
Picture Book/Mythology for 4th-8th grade
$17.50 (1 in stock)
Odyssey (retold)
by Robin Lister & Alan Baker
from Kingfisher
for 7th-9th grade
Odyssey for Boys and Girls
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
for 5th-8th grade
$11.86
Odyssey for Boys and Girls
by Alfred J. Church
from Living Book Press
for 5th-8th grade
$6.79
Odyssey for Boys and Girls
by Alfred J. Church
from Macmillan
for 5th-8th grade
Pinocchio
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M. A. Murray and illustrated by Greg Hildebrandt
from Unicorn Publishing House
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Pinocchio
Puffin Classics
by Carlo Collodi, translated by E. Hardin and illustrated by Gioia Fiammenghi
from Puffin Books
Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$6.79
Pinocchio
Sterling Classics
by Carlo Collodi, illustrated by Scott McKowen
Unabridged from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Pinocchio
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M. A. Murray and illustrated by Roberta MacDonald
from Junior Deluxe Editions
Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Pinocchio
Children's Classics
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Charles Folkard
from Dilithium Press, Ltd.
for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Pinocchio
Rainbow Classics
by Carlo Collodi, translated by Joseph Walker and illustrated by Richard Floethe
from World Publishing Company
Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Pinocchio
by Carlo Collodi, illustrated by Alice Carsey
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade
$15.30
Pinocchio
Windermere Readers #2
by Carlo Collodi, illustrated by Esther Friend
from Rand McNally
Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Pinocchio
Windermere Series 4
by Carlo Collodi, illustrated by Esther Friend
from Rand McNally
Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Pinocchio
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M. A. Murray and illustrated by Roberto Innocenti
from Creative Editions
Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Stories of Don Quixote
by James Baldwin, retold from Miguel de Cervantes
from Yesterday's Classics
for 5th-7th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$11.01
Stories of Don Quixote
by James Baldwin, retold from Miguel de Cervantes
from Living Book Press
for 5th-7th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$8.49
Stories of the East from Herodotus
by Alfred J. Church
Ill from Yesterday's Classics
for 5th-8th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
Story of the Iliad
by Alfred J. Church, edited and updated by Cyndy Shearer
from Greenleaf Press
Greek Mythology for 5th-8th grade
Story of the Iliad
by Alfred J. Church
from Living Book Press
Greek Mythology for 5th-8th grade
$8.49
Story of the Odyssey
by Alfred J. Church
from Living Book Press
Greek Mythology for 5th-8th grade
$7.64
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